One Response to Lessons in Viking Economics | Inequality.org

I am a machinist and a father of two young children. For a long time I have worried about the growing divisions in society and how inequality is shaping the world my children will live in. Although things are improving for some, too many still suffer.

I sent the following letter about inequality to Larry Bartels in 2015 and he, most generously, included it in the 2nd addition of his book “Unequal Democracy”, published by Princeton University in 2016.

Because Professor Bartels saw something of value in my letter, I thought I would pass it on.
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All around me, people are being dragged down by the increasing disparity in our country:
• They work more and more hours just to keep a roof over their head and feed their children.
• They juggle multiple part time jobs because corporations do not want to pay benefits.
• And they go to work sick because their company does not provide sick leave for them.

Someone is going to help us at retail stores and restaurants. Someone is going to stock our grocery store shelves. Someone is going to take care of our elderly parents. They successfully complete tasks we all require but are only rewarded with struggle and inequity.

Overall, our society is becoming more and more divided between the haves and the have nots. Resources and educational quality pool into increasingly exclusive and homogeneous zip codes, while opportunity and possibility drain from increasingly segregated working class communities.

Where are the better public schools? Where are the best hospitals? Where are the safest neighborhoods? I think we all know the answer to these questions.

What working people need is a larger voice in our Democracy, but they don’t have the time. They can’t spare the attention. They are struggling to survive. It is almost impossible to see beyond the next month’s bills, let alone the next election cycle. They are invisible and there are powerful people who want to keep them that way. I just think they should have a fighting chance.

At the end of the day it is really an issue of basic fairness. That people deserve some dignity for completing the work that society demands, a reasonable quality of life for what they contribute to our common good, and a fundamental understanding that all work has value and deserves respect.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Sincerely,
Daniel Wasik (daniel_wasik@yahoo.com)

I am also a musician, and have songs online that address this and other social issues. The songs are: “Who Has to Wonder”, “What are We Fighting For”, and “In America”.
You can listen for free at cdbaby.com